Thanks Mom & Dad

So it's the one month mark. One month ago I was making final preparations (okay okay... starting to pack and getting a Visa). Today I'm giving Thanks to my parents for sending me out here. This is an experience like none other. Love you guys. 

Currently listening to "3 x5" by John Mayer. A song about traveling and being present where you are. Taking in all the sights and not having to take a 3x5 - picture. I've found that I remember much more when I'm not behind a camera the whole time. So, in staring at the ocean in front of me, I'm trying to make a permanent memory. 

Sam and I started our second week of work Tuesday (Monday was Australia Day... a day of festivals and celebrations). Bracewell is a great place to work if you like the smaller company atmosphere. We get to be involved in everything! From calling boutiques to get the line in their shops, to being involved in print and fabric meetings, quality control, delivering to shops, etc etc. It's my favorite internship so far. I thought before this that I was a corporate gal, but it may turn out that I like the smaller venue. 

Today I signed up for two courses over the weekend to get certified for bar work. I've got to learn all the laws and stuff. I'm excited actually. The courses span two days. 

OK... finish later... got interrupted! 

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

(Suzy)

I found that quote the other day, and I think that sums up just how I feel about coming here to Oz.  We're here.  It's still a bit surreal when I actually think about it.  Not being able to talk to people from home makes it all the more important to be present, here, and involved in my life as it is, and where it is now.  And I have zero complaints so far... ok... we did have a Giant spider on our balcony tonight - 2" across, and definitely looked like the poisonous kind.  As Sam and I are pretty scared of those things... it was exciting. 

So this is my first blog since we started it.  We've done some great things so far... let me see if I can share the highlights. 

Sam's mom Vickie and stepdad Dan were so generous and set us up in a fabulous hotel in The Rocks... right in the harbour where from the rooftop we could see the bridge on our left and the Sydney Opera House on the right.  

We were right across the street from the waterfront.  On New Years Eve, we went up to the roof where they served champagne and we watched the fireworks at 9pm and midnight.  The streets below were packed with people, all enjoying themselves ringing in the new year.  We ventured out between shows and had to push our way through crowds of people to get Kangaroo burgers!... which by the way are fantastic.  The fireworks were set off in 5 different places - all along the harbour, the center point being the bridge.  A great youtube video highlighting the midnight fireworks is here.

The first couple of days were all about exploring our new home.  We did a lot of walking and a lot of shopping.  Made some friends and have had some great cocktails.  Within one week we were able to find a wonderful apartment in Bondi with an amazing view of the ocean.  From our place we have 180 degrees of ocean views, with Bondi Beach being right in front.   The weather is perfect, and we keep forgetting that it is winter back home and our friends are all perfecting their sledding techniques.  :)  We're very lucky in that we have a pool on our rooftop and we've been laying out almost everyday.  I've gone from translucent alabaster to a nice normal color - haha!  

Last weekend we went to the Sydney Aquarium (I have photos on my facebook), and saw some really cool creatures.  I like the crocodile tank where you can look in from the top... there's a pretty funny sign there... and you can even see the croc... 

We're also super fortunate to be here now because it happens to be summer... lots of festivals and street performers and travelers, etc etc.  The Sydney Festival is going on now through to the end of the month - pretty big business - where there is lots of music, art, blah blah.  We went for "Festival First Night" and just happened to bump into a Santogold concert!  Haha!  There was riot control and the coppers were turning people away... it was rough.  A copper on a horse was in the middle of the crowd... the horse got startled and reared the copper off... everyone ended up alright.  

Anyway... Sydney has been fabulous so far.  We start work Monday at 11.  We're excited to meet our co-workers and get into the job.  

Right, so I've written a blog! finally. 

Much love and well wishes. 

Suzy. 

Here is a cute little lorikeet checking us out on our balcony!
A 10 minute walk from our apartment and we're here! Lovely Bondi Beach...
Our view from our balcony at night...
And in the evening!

Also, there is an absolutely GORGEOUS cliff path all around the ocean that starts at Bondi...it's so pretty I've been inspired to start running along it! The views the whole way make it all worth it, I'm starting to even look forward to it.

Our apartment also has a rooftop pool which is great, we get a 360 view of Sydney, and can even see the bridge off in the distance.

Well that's about it for now...we're basically just enjoying the beach life and getting tan! More to come!

Our New Place!

Sorry it's taken so long to write on here again...we've been settling into our cute little new place! It's at Bondi Beach (apparently the skin cancer capital of the world...), and we absolutely love it! There are crazy tropical birds everywhere, and they've quickly become our new alarm clock. There are mostly lorikeets, and these crazy black and white birds that sound like a screaming child. We've both seen a cockatoo once...but we can hear them alllll the time, they are by far the loudest!

Pictures

I almost forgot to put up some pictures from the show! These are all from our rooftop view...It was absolutely spectacular!

Also, here is a video of the midnight fireworks!

Sam's First Post

Well, here we are in beautiful Sydney! My flights were absolute misery (21 hours)...but it is all worth it now! My feet and ankles were so swollen when I got off the plane that it looked like I had never lost my baby fat from the knees down. They are just now getting back to normal, three days later. I really need to drink some more water...

Our first day was great...simply exploring the area around our hotel was great. It's called The Rocks, and it is the oldest area in Sydney. To me it looks like a hybrid of some old European town and San Francisco, with a splash of Downtown Disney. For dinner on our first night, we decided to dive right into the culture and ordered a kangaroo pizza. I just have to say that kangaroo...is...delicious. It's more like beef than anything else, but much more tender. As we were leaving dinner, I looked up and realized that there were massive bats everywhere! I've only seen tiny little ones from back home, but these are huge fruit bats; they fly like birds instead of just flitting around.

As for New Year's Eve, it was absolutely amazing. The crowds started packing in at around 6 o'clock by the water, dancing to some hilarious American songs that I haven't heard in years. Both fireworks shows were absolutely AMAZING...I've never seen anything like it. We were lucky enough to view them from the rooftop of our hotel, so it wasn't very crowded. The whole harbor was lit up with at least 5 barges that I could see shooting off in unison. The bridge was also lit up, and the downtown buildings were firing off as well. We were literally surrounded by the most beautiful fireworks I've ever seen.

I'm a little bit too tired right now to remember all the things I wanted to talk about, but I figured I would go ahead and get started on our little blog! We're color coding our posts, so I'll be red!